Places We Have Called Home In 2020

(We Added A New Stop To Our Link)

Home Is Where We Park It:  Josam Front End Alignment, Orlando, Florida

September 29, 2020

We Were An Island

Travel Day

We both agree, we have had more rain in the last week than we have had for the last year.  How much rain?

This was our site when we first arrived.  Nice and dry, really nice, green grass all around.

This was our site after the rains that fell yesterday.  We had a good two inches of water all around.  Little did I know when I picked this site that this half of the campground funnels all the water that falls into this site.  Oh yes, we were an island.  Still, all in all we found it a beautiful campground and would return here if we were ever in this area again.  We would, however, definitely book another site!

Today, we swam out of our site since we had places to go and people to see.

Our first stop on the way out.  The black tank was only one quarter full. We can go two weeks before we have to dump it. However, the gray tank was half full and it would be another four days after this before we would have a FHU site again.

Tank dumped and we were on the road.  Thirty minutes later and we were. . .

at our first stop.  We were here to get an estimate for repainting several sections of Elvira that have really severe checking in the paint.  The estimate was reasonable and so we will be scheduling a time in the future to get Elvira repainted.

We no more than arrived in the parking lot and the heavens opened up again.  Well, I had to get us turned around and the car hooked back up again so we could continue on our way.  I’m sure glad I had a complete set of dry clothes set out because I sure needed them.  Rain or no rain we had to push on.

We got back on Florida Route 4 heading East and went all of about ten miles when we came to a complete halt.  A nasty accident closed two of the three lanes.  We crawled our way along with many others and finally got past the accident site and were back on our way.  The road was clear from this point on.  The rain also let up so we could get back up to a reasonable speed.

Next and final stop for the day . . .

In the front gate. . .

and we were home for the next couple of nights.  Yup, we are outside the garage.  They snaked a 50 amp receptacle out under the door and plugged us in.  Much better than being inside if you ask me.  About that raincoat. . .

Yup, just when I had to unhook the car the rain came down again.  It has been raining on and off now for the last hour.  But we are snug inside, the DISH antenna is up and we have all three satellites.  Life is good.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Tomorrow they’ll do the font end work on Elvira.  The next day they’ll do the alignment and then we’ll be on our way to our winter home in Sumter Oaks.  Ms Barbara also received a call regarding a date for some tests before her surgery.  Things are moving along.  All in all a great day all around.  Thank you Lord for taking care of us.

Thanks for checking in with us today.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Colt Creek State Park Campground, Lakeland, Florida

September 58, 2020

Temperature 89 Degrees

A Wee Bit Of Rain – And More On The Way

Date for Surgery 

Around The Park

It has been a most interesting 24 hours.

Late afternoon the thunder rolled and the lightening flashed and the rain came down.

Our own private lake.

Poor Little Graybeard was sitting in its own private lake.  I didn’t think it was that deep until I went to get the car and I found the water came up and over the soles of my sneakers!  And it has started raining again.  Right now it is just a lite drizzle – – correction – it is pouring once again.  Our lake is beginning to fill up even more.  Another hour and we may just have to pack up in the midst of this storm and move.  Oh, I hope not.  Over the course of the past year this is the worse weather we have encountered to date.

Some really good news.  Ms Barbara has the tentative date now for her first surgery.  It will be November 2nd.  So now starts the rounds of doctors for clearances for everything else.  The next month is going to get real hectic.

Let me share with you a bit about our new home.

The park has a total of 5067 acres.  It sits in the Great Swamp Wilderness Area and is named after a small river that flows through the park.  The property originally belonged to the Overstreet family who once managed it as a cattle ranch. The land was purchased by the state in 2006.  Past activities on the land also included timber harvesting, citrus production, turpentining and as evidenced by. . .

rocks like this scattered throughout the campground it was at one time used for rock mining,

The first use of the area by the state was as a trailhead for various trials in the area.  Then it was all about equestrians and fishing. Many visitors brought a horse to ride the extensive network of trails and forest roads.

 

Finally in 2018 a 34 site campground was developed..  Add in a day use area, 13 miles of trails for hiking and this park has evolved into a multi-facted outdoor destination showcasing the Green Swamp.  

A touch of color.

This is the restrooms/showers/laundry.   It is spotless on the outside as well as on the inside.

That is a little bit about our neighborhood.  It is an absolutely beautiful place to call home.  My only regret is we’re not going to be able to spend at least another week or two here.  I’ll miss hiking some of the trails.  Tomorrow, we’re on the move again.  We have two places we need to take Elvira to for maintenance.  Hopefully, we’ll get a lull in the weather so we can pack up without getting soaked.

That is it for today on The Road of Retirement.  The rain has let up a bit so I’m putting on my water wings and going out to see how deep the water is around Elvira.  Our lake now stretches clear across to the next site.  Oh yea, it has grown considerably in the last hour!  Rain, rain go away and come back – on the West Coast where it is really needed.

Thanks for checking in with us today.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

(We’ve Added A New Stop To Our Link)

Home Is Where We Park It:  Colt Creek State Park Campground, Lakeland, Florida

September 27, 2020

Temperature 91 Degrees

Florida – The Grim Reaper State

Time With Friends

Travel Day

I have a new nickname for the state of Florida.  I believe it is soon going to be called The Grim Reaper State.  They have lifted all COVID-19 restrictions and are allowing all businesses to go back to full capacity, there will be no mask mandate, and you can have as many as you want at outdoor gatherings.  I sure hope I am wrong but unfortunately I don’t think I will be.  Time to hunker down in The Republic of Newmar and let the world go by.

Saturday night we were thrilled to be able to spend more time with our good friends, Dennis and Pam.  This time we went to their house in Ocala.  Pam was the ever gracious host and prepared a delicious meal.  We look forward to spending even more time with them in the future.  A bonus, Dennis had a mountain bike for sale which I immediately scooped up.  Oh yea, I’m looking forward to going riding around Sumter Oaks in the near future.

Sunday and we . . .

began our worship at our home church in Colts Neck, New Jersey.

A highlight of the service was the installation of the church’s new elders and deacons.  At one point in the installation service the current leaders usually come forward to lay hands on those who have been newly appointed.  That, of course, was not possible today.  So, everyone currently installed as leaders at some point dipped their hands in a dish of paint and then left their hand prints on a special shawl. . . .

which was then laid on the shoulders of those being installed.  What a wonderful way to lay on hands.

Also today.  Remember the number one rule of full time RV life?  Always be flexible.

Well, we both wanted to be closer to Ms Barbara’s brother and his wife who would be in Tampa on Monday.  Harry was scheduled for another out patient surgery and his wife Janet sounded like she could use a shoulder to lean on.  With that in mind, just in case they needed us, we decided to move south to a state park just outside of Tampa.

The trip was an easy one but not, however, without a bit of the unexpected.  As we were leaving our current home our back turn signals on Elvira decided not to work.  Since we still had turn signals on our toad we decided to press on.

A quick hour plus and we were at the entrance to

which is located in Lakeland, Florida.  I was really surprised when I was able to reserve a site here just this past Friday.  Looking around from where we are parked right now there is not an empty site to be found.

A quick stop at the ranger station for our registration packet and then a twisting two mile ride to the campground.

This is our new home.  It is back in, hard packed gravel, dead level.  Unfortunately, it only has water/electric but we’ll make due.  I connected the water, plugged into the electric pedestal and started doing a few other things and just like that we lost all power.  OK, now what?  It seems we tripped the 50 amp breaker at the pedestal.  I reset it and all was good – for about another fifteen minutes and then it tripped again.  I checked and we were only using thirty amps maximum.  A closer look at the power pedestal and it was obvious that the 50 amp breaker was no good.

A quick call to the office and the campground host was dispatched to our location forthwith.  He apologized for our inconvenience and promptly went to work replacing the breaker.  And he did it with a smile.  Now that’s customer service.   Well, it has been several hours since and we’re still up and running with no further issues.

Several pictures of the park.  It is only three years old.  Site’s are spacious.  Lots and lots of green grass.  The roads are paved and in excellent condition.  It is a beautiful place to call home for the next couple of days.

About those pesky back turn signals on Elvira.  I removed the bulbs, sanded the contacts in each socket, put the blubs back in and now they’re working again.  All’s well that ends well.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Right now we’re sitting here listening to the thunder and the rain coming down in buckets.  It is pouring.  Thankfully, we’re all set on the outside so we can just hunker down and watch a few movies or maybe play some Mexican Train.

Thanks for joining us again today.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Silver Springs State Park Campground, Ocala, Florida

September 25, 2020

Temperature 90 Degrees

Fantastic Friday

Our Garden Is In Bloom

Ms. Barbara Will Have Her New Knees

Moving Out On Sunday

Cracker Village

What a fantastic Friday we awoke to.  Just look at that beautiful blue sky.  How can one not be excited about the day before them when the sky is like that.

Not to mention our garden is in full bloom.  Isn’t it beautiful?  The really nice thing is I didn’t have to plant these beautiful flowers, nor cultivate them, nor drag multiple bags of mulch to spread around them.  I simply let God do all the work and I have to say He did a great job!

We were up and out early this morning because Ms. Barbara had an 8 am appointment with the orthopedic surgeon who restored my right knee two years ago.  Her knees have been giving her problems for some time now.  Well, an X-ray of each knee showed that they are definitely in need of reconstruction.  The good news is that the wheels are now turning to have this done.  Hopefully, one will be done by the end of this year; and, the second will be done the beginning of next year.

From the doctor’s we headed on over to one of our favorite restaurants for a breakfast celebration.  Out west you can’t find a Bob Evans to save your life.  So, when we discovered this one we just knew we had to stop before we left this area.

This Sunday we’re pulling up stakes several days early and heading south to Colt Creek State Park.  Ms. Barbara’s brother will be having an out-patient procedure done on Monday and we want to be there.  This park is only thirty minutes from the hospital where he will be.  So, the plan is to meet him and his wife beforehand and spend some time with both of them.  Sure is convenient at times to have wheels on your home.

OK, let’s finish up our time here at Silver Springs.

Wandering around over by the museum I discovered these buildings.

I learned that it is a replica of a Florida Cracker Homestead.

Now, what exactly is a cracker?  It really depends on who you ask.  A little research revealed that the most common and accepted answer is that the name refers to:

He or she is from a family that was here long before the huge population explosions in Florida after World War Two. He or she is almost always Caucasian.  They and their ancestors lived in Florida and prospered before the days of cars, highways, mosquito control, air conditioning, medicare, social security and government welfare.

A Florida cracker usually has a rural upbringing, either on a farm or in a small town with plenty of woods and water for hunting and fishing and land for planting.  That’s because a Florida cracker is often self sufficient.

As for the name itself, depends on who you ask but again the most common and accepted origin of the name comes from:  the name comes from the crack of the whip that the early Georgia and Florida settlers used to control their cattle and drive their wagons. This is still the favorite theory of Florida crackers in the cattle counties of central and southwest Florida. They’re still cracking the whip even in modern times.

Time for a tour of their village.  Unfortunately, all of the buildings are locked up tight.  Once again a result of COVID-19.  The rangers are no longer conducting tours.

This first building is really a part of the museum.

Moving into the cracker village.

Their style of architect emphasized large porches.  It was a place for family gatherings and gave members of the family a place to relax outside removed from the weather.

Did you catch that last sentence about the fireplace and chimney?  I guess they must have had a few accidents over time.

A typical out building.  Alas, today even the cow is long gone.

This building did double duty.  It was a school during the week and a church on Sunday.

This kicked my curiosity into overdrive and I just had to know what it was.  Time to investigate.

A bit of sleuthing on the internet and I learned a few things.  This is an antique mill or press used to crush sorghum or sugar cane.  It was made by the Chattanooga Plow Company.   It would have been driven by either a single horse or mule.

The Chattanooga Plow Company was once the largest factory in Chattanooga and an international leader in plow design and production. They focused on a “southern plow,” the one- or two-horse plow most commonly used by southern farmers. As the company expanded into new markets, they held expositions and field schools to prove the ability of the plow and to teach the proper ways to use the plows.   Chattanooga Plow also added a line of cane mills, evaporators, and furnaces for processing sugar cane and making syrups. 

Regarding sorghum or sugar cane: Sorghum is a plant native to Africa that was first raised in the United States in 1853 or so.  Much like sugar cane, sorghum cane has a sweet core that can be pressed and boiled to make sorghum syrup (some people call it molasses or sorghum molasses.  Molasses is technically made from sugar cane only.  It was commonly grown on farms in the south where sugar cane wouldn’t thrive (i.e. the mid-south) so families could have access to sweetener.  Anyhow, as family farms declined in number and as artificial sweeteners grew in popularity and cheap labor (I read this as large farm families) became less accessible, sorghum fell by the wayside

A typical press in operation.

So that brings to an end my wanderings around the Silver Springs Campground.  I had a delightful time on the trails – at least the ones I was able to hike – and just wandering around and checking things out.

Another week has come to a close on The Road of Retirement.  It has been a really great week overall.  We’ve had time to just rest and relax.  I’ve been able to do some hiking.  I have to tell you the fact that I can even go on a trail is something I will never, ever take for granted.  Two years ago before both of my knees were reconstructed I could only walk on hard surfaces and only then if they were level.  Now, I can hike and I can and have also climbed to the top of more than a few lighthouses.  Walking, hiking something so often take for granted.  I never will.  God Is Good All Of The Time

Before I forget you know who finally gave me back my flashlight this afternoon.  Now, if only he will also give me back the case for it.  Ah well, the flashlight is really the important thing.

Thanks for joining us again today.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!